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[Review] Dell Inspiron i3169-0012WHT Powerful Core M Convertible

As of late we're seeing convertibles flood the market. Initially being rather expensive and limited machines, it seems that lately they're becoming cheaper as well as better equipped. Today we're on our way to review the Dell Inspiron i3169-0012WHT, a very interesting convertible packing a Core M processor and a very low price point. Without further ado, let's get down to business!

Dell Inspiron i3169-0012WHT Review of a high performing convertible

An extremely portable design

Though there are some convertibles that leave much to be desired in the way of portability, Dell has decided that it's new white notebook wouldn't be one of them. Specifically, this model comes packed with an 11.6 inch display and an overall weight that doesn't reach the 3.3 pounds, making it very easy to take with you anywhere you go.

The display is an LED-lit screen with an HD resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. It goes without saying that it's a touchscreen enabled display and that it can flip its position to go from laptop to tablet seamlessly, otherwise it wouldn't be that much of a convertible.

HD instead of Full HD is kind of a bummer. However, you'll have a hard time finding a convertible at this price point that also allows for a Full HD display and doesn't come with your basic entry level CPU.

The keyboard is spacious, though as most 11 inch models in the market, it doesn't have a dedicated numeric pad. Also, it's not backlit, sorry about that yet I have still to find an affordable laptop that actually packs a backlit keyboard.

Performance of the DELL Inspiron i3169-0012WHT

Moving onto more pressing matters, performance on this notebook is pretty good thanks to its Intel Core M3 6Y30 dual core CPU clocking in at a base frequency of 0.9 GHz and reaching its maximum potential at 2.2GHz through turboboost. This is an excellent CPU that delivers a solid performance easily comparable to a standard 4th generation Intel Core i5.

What this means to the end user is that you'll be able to run light as well as demanding apps seamlessly. Several people using this CPU even work with the likes of Final Cut and many of them also work with photoshop without reporting any issues on overall performance.

Obviously you'd be better of with a 6th generation i5 if you're planning on working with very demanding software on an ongoing basis but if that's not the case and you're just gonna use photoshop once in awhile and generally spend your time editing documents, watching movies, chatting with friends and even coding then there's no reason why you should run into any trouble.

Adding to the CPU is the system memory which in this case is comprised of a 4GB DDR3L SDRAM module working at 1600MHz. Again, if you're not intending on being a very demanding user then 4GB should more than fit the bill. With Windows 10 that's just about enough to run two-three apps at a time and have quite a few browser tabs open without it being a problem.

Can I be a pro gamer on this thing?

As part of every review, including our review of the Dell Inspiron i3169-0012WHT we always tackle graphical performance to see if the laptop can deal with gamers. In this case it can't. There's no way around this issue; the i3169-0012WHT packs an integrated graphics chip and while that might be more than enough to stream videos and do your odd editing here and there, gaming on AAA titles is a non-starter.

That said, if you're a casual gamer who goes for titles like SIMS and Fifa then you shouldn't run into any issues and you could easily manage a solid frame rate.

Battery life and storage

There's not much info regarding battery life on the Inspiron i3169-0012WHT. However, early reviews have suggested battery life in the realm of the 7-8 hour mark. That also makes sense when you consider the low power consumption of the M3 processor as well as the HD display instead of a more demanding Full HD display.

Storage is comprised of a 500GB Serial ATA drive (Hard drive) operating at 5400 rpm. If you're one for SSD's over HDD's then you should find comfort in the fact that at this price range the best you would've gotten out of a convertible in terms of SSD would've been a 64GB unit and if that were the case then that would render the whole laptop pretty much useless for any kind of serious performance.

Anything else worth knowing?

Finally, we should address the issue of connectivity where we've got everything we've come to expect of an 11 inch laptop. That is three USB ports, an HDMI port, SD card reader, audio jack, WiFi b/g/n connectivity and Bluetooth of the 4.0 variety.

Obviously there's no DVD drive, nor is there any ethernet port since this kind of device has been designed with portability in mind and not created with the intention of being used as a desktop replacement.

So? What should I do?

After reading this review of the Dell Inspiron i3169-0012WHT you might still be weighing the pros and cons of buying this model. The truth is that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to laptops. If what you're looking for is a budget convertible that packs a very powerful CPU and you're looking to store a lot of data in it then you'd be pretty well off with this model.

On the flip side, if you're looking to do hardcore multitasking (think 5-8 apps running at a time), hardcore gaming and wanna watch movies in Full HD then for obvious reasons this laptop won't manage to fit your needs.

All in all, this is an excellent option its just not an option suited for everyone so you're gonna have to assess your priorities before making a decision. That said, if money is a concern and you're sure you want a convertible then you're gonna have a pretty hard time finding anything much better than this model at this price range.

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